distribution

distribution

1. the specific location or arrangement of continuing or successive objects or events in space or time.

2. the extent of a ramifying structure such as an artery or nerve and its branches.

3. the geographical range of an organism or disease.

frequency distribution in statistics, a mathematical function that describes the distribution of measurements on a scale for a specific population.

normal distribution a symmetrical distribution of scores with the majority concentrated around the mean; for example, that representing a large number of independent random events. It is in the shape of a bell-shaped curve. Called also gaussian distribution. See illustration.

Normal distribution. The approximate percentage of the area (or frequency) lying under the curve between standard deviations is indicated. From Dorland's, 2000.

probability distribution a mathematical function that assigns to each measurable event in a sample group the probability that the event will occur.

dis·tri·bu·tion

(dis'tri-byū'shŭn),

1. The passage of the branches of arteries or nerves to the tissues and organs.

2. The area in which the branches of an artery or a nerve terminate, or the area supplied by such an artery or nerve.

3. The relative numbers of people in each of various categories or populations such as in different age, gender, or occupational samples.

4. Partition.

5. The pattern of occurrence of a substance within or between organelles, cells, tissues, organisms, or taxa.

[L. distribuo, pp. -tributus, to distribute, fr. tribus, a tribe]

distribution

/dis·tri·bu·tion/ (dis″trĭ-bu´shun)

1. the specific location or arrangement of continuing or successive objects or events in space or time.

2. the extent of a ramifying structure such as an artery or nerve and its branches.

3. the geographical range of an organism or disease.

chi-square distribution a distribution of sample differences using observations of a random sample drawn from a normal population.

normal distribution a continuous probability density function roughly characterizing a random variable that is the sum of a large number of independent random events; usually represented by a smooth bell-shaped curve symmetric about the mean.

Normal distribution. The approximate percentage of the area (or frequency) lying under the curve between standard deviations is indicated.

distribution

(dĭs′trə-byo͞o′shən)

n.

1. The extension of the branches of arteries or nerves to the tissues and organs.

2. The area in which the branches of an artery or a nerve terminate, or the area supplied by such an artery or nerve.

3. The geographic occurrence or range of an organism.

4. A characterization of the occurrence of the actual unique values in a set of data (as in a frequency distribution) or of the theoretical unique values of a random variable (as in a probability distribution).

dis′tri·bu′tion·al adj.

distribution

the location of medications in various organs and tissues after administration. The concentration of highly water-soluble drugs may be greater in persons who are elderly, dehydrated, or febrile because they have less total body water for dilution of the substance. As the lean muscle mass decreases and body fat increases, drugs that are distributed primarily in body fat have a more prolonged effect.

distribution

MedspeakThe location or site of predilecton of a lesion or process.

PharmacologyThe reversible transfer of a drug from one site to another in the body.

StatisticsA group of ordered values; the frequencies or relative frequencies of all possible values of a characteristic.

distribution

Clinical medicine The pattern of involvement of a tissue by a particular condition. See Batwing distribution, Fat distribution, Mocassin distribution, Stocking & glove distribution Epidemiology The frequency and pattern of health-related characteristics and events in a population Pharmacology The location–eg intravascular or extravascular of a therapeutic agent after absorption, which corresponds to the sum of its distribution and elimination; disposition includes both the alpha and beta portions of a declining serum dose concentration versus time curve. See Disposition, Elimination.

dis·tri·bu·tion

(dis'tri-byū'shŭn)

1. The passage of the branches of arteries or nerves to the tissues and organs.

2. The area in which the branches of an artery or a nerve terminate, or the area supplied by such an artery or nerve.

3. Passage of an agent through blood or lymph to body sites remote from the site(s) of contact and absorption; thus called systemic distribution.

4. The relative numbers of people in each of various categories or populations, such as in different age, sex, or occupational samples.

5. The pattern of occurrence of a substance within or between cells, tissues, organisms, or taxa.

[L. dis-tribuo, pp. -tributus, to distribute, fr. tribus, a tribe]

distribution

the occurrence of a species over the total area in which it occurs, i.e. its range or geographical distribution. In aquatic organisms or soil organisms, or even organisms living on mountains, vertical distribution is also important. In some organisms vertical distribution may vary seasonally, as does geographical distribution, particularly in migratory forms. See also FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION, DISPERSION.

dis·tri·bu·tion

(dis'tri-byū'shŭn)

1. Passage of branches of arteries or nerves to tissues and organs.

2. Area in which branches of an artery or a nerve terminate or area supplied by such artery or nerve.

[L. dis-tribuo, pp. -tributus, to distribute, fr. tribus, a tribe]

distribution

the arrangement of numerical data. The arrangement may be in accordance with magnitude, a frequency distribution, or in relation to geographical location, a spatial distribution.

age distribution

see age distribution.

bimodal distribution

the distribution has two regions of high frequency of observations separated by a zone of low frequency.

binomial distribution

a probability distribution associated with two mutually exclusive outcomes.

cluster distribution

a nonrandom distribution with observations aggregating about geographic or temporal variables. May be deceptive and merely reflect the distribution of an uneven population.

frequency distribution

a table or graph of the frequency of occurrence of each value of a variable.

Gaussian distribution

see normal distribution (below).

hypergeometric distribution

may apply to sampling without replacement of a finite population.

lognormal distribution

a distribution which is normal when the log values of the variable are considered.

normal distribution

a graph of the distribution appears as a bell-shaped curve which is symmetrical on the two sides of the vertical axis through the peak of the curve. Called also gaussian distribution.

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